Having an organized home is a goal that most people have. But reaching that goal can sometimes seem daunting and out-of-reach. As with most goal-setting, it’s usually better to break your goal down into smaller, more achievable goals and work towards those first.
When it comes to organizing the home, the same principle can be applied. I also find it best to work on one area of the home first rather than going all over the place. If you can break your goal down into little tasks each day, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
Every home is different, so some of these may not apply to your home, and you may have to add some other areas in.
While you are organizing, I find it helpful to keep 4 piles going:
- Keep
- Sentimental or needed items
- The items you need to be organizing
- Put these away properly after you are done going through it all
- Donate
- Anything that you no longer need or want
- Items that are still in good shape or working order
- Things that you think others could actually use
- Move
- The items you find that don’t belong in the room you are organizing
- If they are going to a room already finished, make sure to put away properly
- If going to an area you haven’t organized yet, decide if you want to try to organize them, or save for later
- Trash (anything that doesn’t fit into the above three categories)
- Anything that doesn’t fit into the above categories
- If it’s torn, soiled, ruined, doesn’t work, etc. and can’t be fixed just trash it
- Don’t donate these things because it just makes it harder for workers at the donation centers to go through things that should just be trash
There are two ways to organize: either just follow the list or start in the area that needs it the most in your home. I usually try to clean and organize my kitchen before anything else because we are in there daily, and if we have people over they will see the kitchen area. The office area is the next priority since Justin and I work from home so need it to be clean to be productive.
Kitchen:
1. Pantry
2. Junk Drawer
3. Refrigerator/Freezer
4. Pots and Pans/Utensils
Office:
5. Desk
6. Books/Magazines
7. Paperwork
8. Computer Files
Bedrooms
9. Under Beds
10. Clothes
11. Closets
12. Kids Clothes
13. Dressers/Nightstands
14. Jewelry/Accessories
Bathrooms
15. Medicine Cabinet
16. Under Sinks
17. Linen Closet
18. Makeup/Skincare products
Living Room
19. Entertainment Center/Electronics/Cords
Other
20. Garage
21. Kids Toys/Playroom
22. Craft Supplies
23. Holiday Decor
24. Vehicles
25. Cleaning Supplies
26. Backyard
27. Purse/Bag
28. Entryway
29. Other Storage Areas
30. Basement/Attic
I see so many of these and say every time I need to do this but now is seriously the time I need to! I have so much stuff!!
Just take it one day at a time. If you try to do it all at once you will burn out.
I recently just did a thorough organization of the house. With only two of us, it doesn’t get unorganized very often but sometimes I forget i have things and I am glad to take stock!! I love organization challenges because it makes me rethink my stuff and if I can do it better.
I am constantly reorganizing things in my house! And every time, I always end up with more space than I started with.
I could really stand to do this challenge in my house. I’m not the greatest at keeping things organized and I know we could thin out some of the things we aren’t using that often anymore. I really need to buckle down and do this soon.
It seems daunting, but just take it one day at a time and you will get it done!
With the cooler weather and more time indoors, it is the right time for me to complete this challenge and get our house organized.
Definitely a great reason to do it! We also like to at this time of the year to clean out and make room for Christmas gifts that we know are coming for the kids.
I love going through everything at least twice a year! It’s fun to shop but it feels so good to get rid of stuff, too! 🙂
I try to do a whole-house organization at least twice a year as well!
I go through our stuff every 6 months so we can make sure we get rid/donate things we don’t need.
That’s about what we do as well. Unless I get a wild notion that we need to be more organized, then I just randomly start organizing again!
I totally need this in my life! My goal is to get more organized this year!
I hope this helps! A little at a time makes the task more do-able.
This is a great challenge! We recently did something similar and love how tidy our lives are 🙂 no more clutter!
Thanks! It’s amazing how much just a little time spent can drastically decrease the clutter in the home and in our lives.
I seriously need to apply many of this recommendations. After the hurricane passed our house looks so disorganized.
I know how you feel. I’ve been through many hurricanes before as well so know exactly the disorganization you are talking about! I hope you fared through the storm ok.
This is an awesome read, I go through our stuff every 6 months so we can make sure we get rid/donate things we don’t need.
I do the same. We have neighborhood garage sales in Spring and Fall, so that’s my motivation to go through it all.
My apartment could definitely use a good organizational over haul, so this post has come at the perfect time. October 1st seems the a great time to start, thanks for posting this!
I always like starting things like this at the beginning of a month as well!
Good list! I’ve definitely been avoiding my pantry and bathroom linen closet. I need to get myself together! Maybe this will be the kick in the pants I needed!
Just take it a little at a time. If you try to do it all in one day it gets very overwhelming.
Great I been meaning to get this place organized and just get me overwhelmed. Happy to know I can get it done in 30 days.
It’s definitely overwhelming to do it all at once, take it in small steps and you can get it done!
I think this is great! I am going to pin this AND print out the list! I believe I’ve found my October project! 😉
Thanks! I hope this helps and you are able to get really organized before the crazy holiday months hit!
In the spring I totally reorganized my house. Now I need to start the process again .There really is a need for constant re-organization as you said, Stephanie
I love to do it a few times per year as well. Makes a big difference!
I think I am going to do this challenge as well I am trying to live as minimal as i can
I hope it helps you! We try to live minimally as much as possible with two little kids in the house!
I hate clutter in my house as I find it really stressful and it brings negative energy around. This is quite helpful in making a strategy to deep clean house in 30 Days 🙂
I can’t stand clutter either. I can’t work in clutter, I totally understand how you feel!
These are some nice ideas. Diwali is coming anyways so we have to clean and rearrange our home. These tips will help a lot.
Thanks, I hope this helps you get it done!
That is a great list of things that need to be organized. And I do appreciate the constructive aspects here where you discuss who to sort through the things in the room. It is important to do that and be able to get rid of stuff where you can.
I find that helps me the most, to sort through and purge as you are organizing so you know what you have.
I really need to start decluttering more often! Great tips!
It’s not always fun, but feels so good once it’s done!
During the end of summer people start to get ready for the winter and the first thing to do is to prepare their own house. First of all it should be organized and cleaned, all seasonal items should be stored like grills and elements of children yard.